35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
serengeti and eastern sun tours exceeded all my expectations
Huge thanks to Merci for all her help in planning the safari of a lifetime. She is so knowledgeable and helpful. She tailored our safari to suit our wishes and budget. The accommodation she chose was excellent.
The safari well and truly exceeded all my expectations. Never did I imagine we would see so many animals and get so close to them. I would have to say that our driver Eddy is the big reason for that
We couldn't have asked for a better driver and guide, and such a great guy. Eddy was so informative, fun and knew exactly where to find all the animals. His driving skills on the bumpy roads in the national parks made for a very smooth ride.
I couldn't recommend him highly enough.
Anyone that is thinking of doing a serengeti safari, do youself a favour and don't go without booking through Eastern sun Tours. Merci and Eddy will provide you with the safari experience of a lifetime.
The Land That Time Forgot
Descend into the Ngorongoro Crater (actually a caldera, but let's not quibble) and enteri a cool and quiet world belonging to lions, rhinos, hippos, elephants wildebeest, zebras, hyenas, Thompson gazelles, olive baboons, vervet monkeys, jackals, and any number of birds and smaller creatures--just about everything but giraffes. Twenty kilometers in diameter and seemingly flat, the crater hides springs, lakes, and forests (and a few nice bathrooms) where you'll find the animals that don't usually roam the broad grasslands. Humans intrude in pop-top Land Cruisers, but our early-June visit found only a handful. Our guide, Peter, told us later visitors would find hundreds of vehicles and an occasional traffic jam near an especially interesting animal. Don't let that stop you. You'll be goggle-eyed focusing on the animals.
Photographers should take their longest telephoto lenses ((I used my 150-600mm zoom the most), but there are many occasions, as when a lion pride or elephant walks right in front of your vehicle, that a normal or wide angle lens is essential. The rhino is the rarest animal (we were very lucky to see seven) and keeps its distance. so even with a 600mm I couldn't fill a frame.
If possible find accommodations on the rim. Think hard before spending big bucks for a room view into the Crater, because it's often obscured by mist and clouds. We loved our stay at the Rhino Lodge--excellent food, comfortable, rustic rooms, attentive staff, and exceptional service. When we had three flats in our own Land Cruiser and needed assistance driving up from Serengeti, Rhino Lodge sent us a Land Cruiser and two guides to shepherd us up the last two hours after dark. (Cost? $25) The manager and his wife met us and kept our dinner warm.
Rhino Lodge also arranged a Land Cruiser, excellent box lunch and guide (Peter) for our day trip into the Crater, and it was a day all of us will treasure forever. Nothing like a knowledgable, friendly driver/guide, a pop-top for viewing and ten hours watching thousands of animals in a habitat they chose to live in.
Be prepared for very cool and damp weather on the rim and even in the Crater early and late--down sweater or Polartec and a rain jacket will do--and a light shirt for the warm, sunny days.
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Serengeti National Park by Davide Manicardi
a very large National Park
possibility to rest in the park near the animals
possibility to see the Great Migration in a large part of the year (not in August, the animals were at Masai Mara National Park)
Very good safari at a reasonable price
Godfrey set me up with a 5 day/4 night, tarangire, serengity, ngorogoro, Lake Manyara Safari. Good trip only the usual minor complaints. I would use this company again.
BE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beyond amazing
This was one of the most impressive trips in my life. We spent 19 days in this amazing country - in Cape Town and around, Kruger Park safari and Johannesburg. Absolutely wonderful to go to enjoy the sunny weather in November/December when back home it's cold and dark. Mind blowing beauty of nature, the extraordinary experience observing wildlife, authentic simple but charming places, but also super sophisticated ones - you find everything there! Sunsets, beaches, mountains, animals (beside safari wildlife you see in free nature also African penguins, seals, ostriches, baboons etc.), colourful buildings, local craft markets, live music, dances, rooftops, street art and art galleries, so yummy food, wine tastings, shopping, warm hearted people. Cape Town has this really laid back vibe whilst Johannesburg the very urban one, city of big contrasts. We loved absolutely everything! And even the regular electricity outages (you learn to manage them) made us appreciate what we taking for granted back home. A big thank you goes to Safari Bookings for our 4-days Kruger experience. Everything was so perfectly organised - the lodges and tree houses were an experience itself... then the wildlife so close - superlative of excitement. The rangers were so passionate to show as much as possible - we so all BIG 5 and so many other animals! National Geographic live. Very grateful for all what we could experience in SA. I would recommend to everybody to go there at least once in life time.
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Ngorongoro Crater by Davide Manicardi
so big variety of animals in a limited zone.
so easy to see rare animals because the different guides coperate with each other
Positive experience
Climbed Mt. Meru. All went as expected, it was a budget lodge trip. I can recommend. Michael the cook was exceptional.
DE
We came as guests and left as friends after a fantastic 6-day-primate "Safari with Jon"
We had unforgettable days in Uganda, thanks to the great company of Jon! From the first contact to planning the itinerary to saying goodbye, we were looked after warmly and reliably! We planned our tour individually and Jon fulfilled all our wishes. On request, various options were checked and we got valuable recommendations - so in the end the trip was perfectly personalized and even unexpected requests on the way have been fulfilled with a smile - at the end we felt like friends!
Thanks to his knowledge, we were given valuable tips on when and where to go, and we have learnt a lot about Uganda, its wildlife and its history. Jon was really ambitious to get us enthusiastic about his country and its people - and he succeeded 100%.
We opted for the fly-in option and in hindsight were very glad that we didn't have to do all the transfers by 4x4, but of course the overland route has the advantage that you get to see a lot more of the villages along the roads, so it's no wasted time if you opt for this way of travelling.... and Jon is a great driver who skillfully tries avoid the potholes.
We are very grateful for this incredible experience and highly recommend "Safaris by Jon" to anyone looking for an exceptional safari experience at a very fair price in Uganda - the value for money is excellent!
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Evocative sunset
We visited Lake Manyara National Park only in the afternoon because our plane was in late so we weren't able to visit all the park (organization of the guides is the most important requirement for this travels).
The park is very large and offer a good opportunity for the birdwatching. We were able to see storks, hornbills, flamingos, ibis, baboons, zebras, gnu, buffalo, hippos, gazelles, antelopes.
I know the park is a good place to see the leopards activity not only in the night but we unfortunately weren't able to see them. We visited the park until the sunset, the light is so warm and weak and all the photo we took have so nice colours. At the end of the day we covered the near hills so we could admire the Lake from the top of the hills...it is so long and suggestive.
NL
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Professionals with a personal touch
The communication between the customer and Makasa is friendly and precise. Makasa manages the expectations with reality of mother Nature and have a very good choice of the accommodations.
We travelled for the third time with Makasa and again our guide David did a brilliant job. This time we did Tarangire NP, Ndutu, Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater. Our first goal was to experience the migration and calving season of the wildebeest. Lucky ones as we are, we did it on the border of Ndutu and Serengeti. Lucky ones. Overall again was this safari total different as the safaris before. Therefore our opinion is mother Nature has always her surprises.